The door closed. A resounding slam echoed down the stone corridor. With head held low Princess Celestia barely worked up the motivation to walk down the torch lit halls. The castle was almost empty. Most were out trying to hide or help. Some were being buried. This knowledge made the princess feel lonelier than ever. Of course, without her sister, she was.
Once again she called out for her sister to stop this nightmare, once again she was denied. The only difference this time was that somepony was waiting for her as she returned.
A young unicorn stallion glared at his superior. Bearing regal violet robes and powdered silver coat, he held the aura of authority that came with his noble status, as well as the dash of arrogance that occasionally accompanied youth.
“So your informants told you?” Celestia sighed, knowing that this talk would not be pleasant.
As the princess passed, the stallion growled at her, “You dare call upon such riffraff?”
Celestia continued her journey to her study. “Prince Gammon, we need them. The kingdom will fall apart long before food becomes our primary concern.” The princess’s voice did not carry the confidence it once had.
Gammon begrudgingly started following alongside the once-glorious ruler. “I understand your hesitation with your sister. We cannot afford a battle between the sun and the moon.” He shook his head. “And, as shown, our enemies know this is the perfect time to strike.”
Celestia nodded. “Which is why we need help of all those willing to aid.” Her pace quickened as her annoyance grew.
“Mercenaries?”
“Friends.”
Gammon scoffed, “Their titles aren’t even real.”
Celestia turned to the prince and roared, “And who is left!?” Using her magic, she pinned the noblepony to the wall. “Traitors, bandits, monsters! We are overrun with invaders looking for our heads. I have already lost more friends than I care to count!”
To his credit, though perhaps because of his overconfidence, even threatened with the great leader’s power Gammon was not intimidated. “Can you trust them with everypony's safety?”
Celestia’s fury dissipated. She awkwardly shuffled backwards and carefully let Gammon drop to the floor. “They are doing their best.”
Gammon cautiously looked over the ruler of Equestria once more before coming to a conclusion. “They still might need your help. My inquiry was fruitful. Warn the commander that an immortal awaits for them in the darkness.”
Celestia’s eyes went wide with fear. With energy unseen since the night began, she galloped to her study.
Gammon smirked and looked out the window to gaze at the moon. “Let’s see how great your friends truly are.”
Three ponies quickly galloped over the grassy fields. The soft plants dampened every step. The bright full moon and shining stars were not enough to reveal their colors, cutie marks, or their position but it was enough to show their way forward. Their path was clear, they were nearly impossible to detect, and they were armed to the teeth, yet hardly at ease.
“How long will the darkness last?” a heavily armored earth pony worriedly questioned her allies.
“Perhaps forever.” The pegasus looked up at the moon and starry night and growled, “The plants will die, the air will freeze, and our petty squabbles never end.”
“We will survive this night. That is why we fight on,” the robed unicorn reassured her friends.
The earth pony remained anxious. “Relic, are you sure this is the right way?”
“Yes Flare, Lord Requiem’s castle is just through the upcoming forest,” the unicorn calmly responded.
This answer did not lessen the Flare’s distress. “What will we do if Lord Requiem does not grant us his assistance?”
The mage quickly dismissed this idea. “We need his forces and home for a place to rest and he needs us for protection from his new enemies. Neither of us can go back on the deal. Not in these times.”
Up ahead, the pegasus spotted a couple of withered trees, showing that the fields were giving way to forest. “We are almost there.” Something caught her eye. “Wait.”
At once, they skidded to a stop. In the middle of their path stood a quiet figure on two legs. It was impossible not to notice it as its bronze armor gave an eerie glow under the moonlight. However, its features were hidden under the shadow of its equipment.
The figure did not move. The ponies knew better than to ignore it but they could not simply wait for it to leave.
After delaying far too long for her liking, the pegasus shouted at the being, “What are you doing here, human!? This is not your land!”
The human did reply but only in words they were not familiar with. Its voice was deep, otherworldly.
Relic did not let herself be intimidated. “Do not use your wretched tongue in our domain, foul creature!”
The human paused, considered something, and slowly nodded. “I apologize. ‘The gods would not agree’ is what I said.” Even when using their language, the human’s tone did not sound material.
While this happened, the earth pony checked the creature’s equipment. “Bronze armor that cannot stop my steel blade. A bronze sword that cannot cut through Tempest’s light armor let alone my full plate.” She whispered to her unicorn friend, “All this will do is slow it down. It is not equipped to kill. Is there some reason for this?”
The mage contemplated her friend’s words and spoke, “What is your purpose?”
The human silently unsheathed its sword and jabbed it into the ground. “Arch mage Relic, Commander Tempest, and High Guardsmare Flare, my masters have called for me to lay judgment upon you three.”
Tempest flapped her wings, revealing several spears and other weapons attached to her armor. From her back, she unhooked the double-bladed swallow and held it in her mouth. The pegasus looked at each of her companions and nodded.
Flare unsheathed her sword, tightly holding the hilt between her teeth. Relic removed her cloak and used her horn to charge her grey-aura magic.
In spite of holding something in her mouth, Tempest spoke with the utmost clarity, “We cannot waste time with you. If you prevent us from completing our mission, we will kill you.”
The human did not respond with words. Instead, he quietly gripped his blade, pulled it out of the ground, and dashed towards the ponies.
The arch mage acted first, casting a telekinetic spell. The aura surrounded the human and immediately dissipated. Relic blinked in confusion.
“Direct magic will not work on him!” Tempest shouted as she flew into the air.
Flare charged at the human and slashed her sword. Before the blade could connect, a bronze sword struck her in the side of her helmet. She rolled across the ground and back up onto her hooves.
Tempest had more luck, she took the opening allowed from the human’s counter-attack, dived down, and cut into its leg with the edge of one of her blades.
The knight ignored the wound and continued its run towards the mage.
Relic stood her ground and unleashed a wave of fire that enveloped the entire area around her.
The human burst through the blaze and slashed at Relic’s horn. Contact with the blade dispelled the magical heat.
From then on, whenever Relic tried to cast a spell, the human would strike her horn, creating bright sparks that lit up the night and making it impossible to build up the energy for an attack, or worse, making a spell backfire and exhausting her. Constant dodging began to drain the mage both physically and spiritually.
Luckily, she had two allies she could count on.
Both Flare and Tempest rushed in to assist. Flare swung at the human from behind while Tempest kept diving in from above.
The human nimbly avoided each assault or let the attacks slide off its supposedly-useless armor while continuing to cancel Relic’s spells. Yet more and more it had to focus on dodging instead of attacking.
Showing her experience with such opponents, Tempest yelled out commands to her comrades.
“It holds weapons in its hands. Follow the blade not the face.”
“Flare, its reach is too long. Break its blade.”
“Relic, keep trying. It cannot guard against all of us.”
“It will not tire before us but it will misstep. Strike then!”
As promised, at last, the human made a mistake. After hitting Relic’s horn, he tried to directly parry a steel sword with his bronze. Flare’s sword easily sliced through the man’s. The blade continued on a path through the bronze armor to create a flesh wound on its chest.
Tempest dived at the man from behind. “What are you without your sword?”
Its posture became rigid as it responded, “Human.” Without warning, the human accelerated. It shifted around Flare, back-flipped over Tempest’s attack, grabbed Tempest's back leg, lifted her over his head, kicked Flare into Relic, and slammed Tempest into the ground.
Tempest raised her head only to have it punched back down with monstrous force.
The pegasus did not get up.
Tempest’s comrades recovered and remained focused on the battle. No matter what they felt, they could not afford to avert their gaze from such an opponent.
The human started walking forward towards his adversaries. His voice remained ghostly. “Without my blade I cannot relent. Choose.” He burst forward faster than before. “Face judgment or suffer.”
Even without his sword, the man was proving to be too much. He could pivot and shift from one pony to the other. His actions were quick and flowed from one attack or block to the next. While he never made any more than a glancing blow, this pseudo-dancing movement kept the two ponies off balance and constantly on guard.
Relic could now use her spells but basic magic attacks barely hindered the human, she had no time to cast more advanced spells, and he was too close to allow her to throw anything at him.
Flare’s swordplay was practically ignored. The human found no trouble using its armor to deflect the attacks of one swordsmare.
Slowly but surely, it became apparent that the two could not beat their opponent.
This reality came to pass when the human grew tired of Flare’s attempts. He allowed Relic’s lightning blast to wash over him and simply struck Flare in the throat with the back of his hand causing her to gag and drop her weapon.
The human quickly turned to finish off an exhausted mage.
All of a sudden a spear dropped from the sky, impaling the man through the chest. The human, as if in disbelief, slowly looked up and saw Tempest hovering high above then focused on the spear now at home between his ribs. He cautiously reached out and grasped the weapon.
Whatever he was about to do, they would not give him the chance. Tempest dropped down from above and rammed another spear through the human’s chest, throwing him off balance. Using all of her mystic strength, Relic’s magic enveloped a boulder and hurled it into the warrior.
With such an impact, the human was easily thrown backwards, his armor shoved into his chest. The man landed on his back and lay still. Nevertheless, Flare charged forward and repeatedly stomped on her opponent’s head.
The man’s body went limp.
In spite of this fact, Flare still jumped away, back to the safety of her friends. All three studied the man intensely, looking for any movement. After several minutes of watching a corpse, the three were satisfied.
Flare sighed in relief and sheathed her sword. “So that was a human huh?”
Relic shook her head. “Certainly not a normal one.”
Tempest chuckled and reattached her swallow to her back, “Not from my experience.”
Flare grinned. “That says something.”
Suddenly, a green trail of smoke hovered over the man. With a puff, the smoke condensed and a scroll appeared then dropped onto his chest.
The three ponies looked at each other. None of them dared to go over to the body but, after waiting a few minutes, Relic was willing to use her magic to pull the scroll over to them.
Relic studied the scroll. “Hmm, these creatures are after our heads.”
Tempest shrugged. “How unfortunate that we cannot please them.”
Relic’s eyes bulged. “Oh no.”
“What?” her companions said in unison.
“Th-th-that was… Fos.”
Flare raised an eyebrow, “Who?”
Tempest laughed, “That is impossible. Fos would never die so easily.”
Growing more confused by the moment, Flare posed another question, “Why?”
Tempest spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because he is an immortal.”
A beam of light smashed into Relic’s horn, cracking it and dazing the unicorn.
“Ambush!” Flare called out as she frantically looked around while Tempest helped up their friend.
“No,” the ethereal voice came to their ears.
In horror, the ponies turned to see the human raise his arms and slam them into the ground, pushing him back up onto his feet. “The command is clear. You will not escape.”
From the human, a sudden burst of light briefly cast away the darkness. His attitude had changed. Fury drenched his every word. “If I cannot bring you in alive, then you will die here.”
He ripped out the spears from his chest. With another a flash of light, his wounds healed and his armor repaired. Defying the darkness, a golden-white aura now surrounded his body.
Flare’s mouth dropped open. “He can use Astral Magic?”
Tempest pulled out a spear. “Focus!”
Not letting the human do anything else, Relic pushed her drained magic to its limits, ripping out a tree from the ground and hurling it at her opponent.
Fos was not intimidated. He charged forward far faster than should be humanly possible and waved his left hand. An invisible force knocked the tree aside. The immortal held out his right hand and a white blade of light appeared. “Perish.” Faster than the blink of an eye, he slashed his blade. A horizontal shockwave of light cut through the air.
Tempest and Flare jumped over the attack but Relic was too tired and dazed to react properly. When she tried ducking, the cutting wind contacted her weakened horn, causing it to shatter.
As she realized what happened, the arch mage’s eyes went wide. In shock, she touched the base of where her horn should be and whispered, “No.”
Fos did not let up. He side-stepped Flare’s retaliatory sword-swing, grabbed Relic by her neck, lifted her up into the air, and smashed her skull into the earth.
“Relic!” Tempest called out as she threw another spear.
The Astral warrior merely stepped aside, letting the spear strike Relic, pinning the stunned pony to the ground.
Tempest cursed her foolishness, landed next to the terrified Flare, and retrieved her swallow. With their mage gone, all the two could do was charge at the human and overwhelm him with coordinated simultaneous strikes. This is what they tried to do, with predictably futile results.
The human faced his targets. His aura flowed into his left hand. As the two ponies closed in, Fos’s sword of light released another shockwave.
The ponies jumped over the attack and instantly realized their mistake. They were now in mid-air, unable to reach down and stab the human and vulnerable to a counter-strike. Tempest dropped her sword, flapped her wings, and peeled away but Flare could only watch as the human clenched his left fist.
Neither of them saw the attack. Fos’s hand seemed to disappear and reappear only as it impacted Flare’s chest, splintering her armor as if it was paper, and launching the earth pony in the opposite direction. Flare’s body tumbled wildly through the air before colliding with a tree and dropping to the grass.
Flare struggled to move but only managed to look down the large bruise on her chest before collapsing into spasmodic gasps for air. She was unable to resist as Fos grabbed her leg and dragged her over to Relic’s body.
Seeing the scene from above, Tempest could only mutter to herself, “What now?”
Fos looked up at the pony high in the sky.
In return, Tempest growled at the human.
With a flick of the human’s wrist, a spear of light shot out and skewered Tempest through her chest. Showing the grace of a rock, the pegasus plummeted towards and impacted the ground.
Fos canceled his magic. His aura and magic sword dissipated. The spear of light sticking out of Tempest faded away. Darkness swallowed the light once more.
The human walked over to Tempest’s body and sighed in disappointment. He reached down to drag her to her friends. Within a split second, Tempest grinned, pulled out a hidden dagger, and slashed Fos in the neck. Fos staggered back in surprise.
With a flap of her wings, Tempest blasted towards the human, striking deep into his neck a second time. She landed, pivoted, and braced for another pass.
As his wounds healed, Fos looked over his shoulder. “My neck? I understand. You too are an immortal.”
Tempest burst forward.
“That will make this easier.” A brilliant blinding light surrounded the warrior.
It was like staring into the sun. Tempest could not follow the human’s movement but she could guess. She dived out of the way of what she thought was an attack and went to strike at another angle. Too late she noticed her left wing was missing.
The force of only one pegasus wing flapping threw the pony off-balance. A wave of light took off her other wing and sent her stumbling to the earth. Fos kicked Tempest in her throat, propelling her towards her friends. The pegasus reflexively tried to flap her wings and land on her hooves, but the lack of such appendages made that impossible.
As Tempest hit the ground and rolled over to her friends, a spear of light fell from above and passed through her neck. While she tried to rip it out, Fos clapped his hands together and pressed them against the grass. The spear turned into strands of light which pulled Tempest to the earth. No matter how much she struggled, the magical bonds would not budge.
The battle was over.
With his victory in hand, Fos walked over to the three ponies. Tempest strained her neck to try and bite at him with her mouth while Flare still gasped and flailed her legs in an attempt to get away. The human ignored these two, walked over to the hornless and motionless mage, knelt down next to the pony, and listened. “Still breathing. Good.”
That done, he walked over to a nearby spot, picked up the scroll that had so helpfully distracted the ponies, and opened it to read. Only one part did he read out loud, “Be careful. Commander Tempest Rim is an immortal.” He stuffed the scroll under his belt. “Timely.”
Just then, a ball of light appeared in front of the human. Out of it teleported in Princess Celestia and a contingent of winged Royal Guards. The winged unicorn and her soldiers dropped to the ground and gravely stared at the human. Celestia was quite obviously not in a good mood.
In turn, out of the shadows appeared several dozen human knights. They rushed to stand behind Fos. The man confidently walked up to the princess.
Fos dropped to his knee as the rest of the knights followed suit. “Your Highness. By your request, I have captured the assassins of Prince Cumulous. These two,” he pointed to Relic and Flare, “require the healing arts if they are to live to see the day they stand trial.”
Celestia sighed with tired breath, “Lord Broadwin, many things are needed to happen before we see the next day.”
Commander Fos Broadwin looked over his shoulder at his men. “Reinforcements?”
“I have lost so many. I was worried when you did not respond,” Celestia sheepishly admitted. She briefly glanced over the three gravely-wounded pony prisoners being dragged away by her guards. “I see those fears were unfounded.”
Fos remained kneeling but smiled. “As you ordered, we are arresting all traitors, saboteurs, and assassins while ending all other opponents to this kingdom. Do not worry about us. Only this Nightmare remains as a real threat.”
Celestia nodded and solemnly looked up at the moon. “I will try to reason with her once more. If she refuses… I will deal with it if it comes to that.” She paused and resolutely stomped her hoof. “Will the Athereal Knights stand with Us if such an event comes to pass?”
Energy flowed from each of the radiant knights. Combined with the magical energy emanating from Celestia, the power lit up the surrounding land as if it were day. Fos and his soldiers stood up, pressed a hand to their chest, and boldly declared, “We will serve you to the end!”
